Cremation urn burial vaults (“vaults”) are utilized to hold burial urns containing cremated remains, such as cremated human remains. Vaults currently available to consumers and made of concrete, steel, granite, marble, ceramic, stained glass, steel, or wood are unnecessarily heavy. According to subject matter disclosed herein, a cremation urn vault is of lower weight than vaults of comparable size and capacity. Having lower weight relative to their size and capacity, vaults according to the disclosed subject matter can be handled, transported and installed in a manner requiring less complexity, fewer personnel, less and lighter capacity handling equipment, and at less expense than required for existing, heavier vaults of comparable size and capacity. The disclosed subject matter provides lighter, more easily-handled cremation urn vaults. Disclosed subject matter provides vaults that are impervious to nature's elements to a greater degree than the above-mentioned urn vaults of existing design. The disclosed subject matter provides vaults having stronger structure than existing vaults and capable of withstanding the heavy weight of covering soil and heavy equipment that can pass across the covering soil. Disclosed subject matter provides a protective and sealable urn vault with far greater stability and durability than existing designs. The disclosed subject matter also provides vaults suitable for efficient, streamlined installation into a burial position in the ground. Embodiments also provide such vaults suitable for family members to safely lower the vault into a burial position by themselves, allowing additional opportunity for closure for grieving family and mourners. Disclosed subject matter also provides a vault that can be buried with reduced complexity and reduced installation costs. Disclosed subject matter provides a vault having a structural design and qualities of permanent durability that are suitable for selection for permanent burial of cremated remains by surviving family with confidence and peace of mind.
Disclosed subject matter also provides vaults of size, capacity and reduced weight suitable for purchase by consumers in advance of death (“pre-need”) from suppliers such as funeral homes and funeral directors, and which can be easily handled, readily taken into immediate possession by consumers, and stored by consumers for later use at the time of death of a family member. Disclosed subject matter also provides such vaults that are suitable for customization of features desired by consumers and such as, for example, appearance features, in advance of death. Disclosed subject matter also provides such vaults that are suitable for easy handling, display, sale and delivery by suppliers such as funeral homes and funeral directors to consumers. Disclosed subject matter provides vaults that can be readily handled, displayed, sold and delivered in advance of death, on a pre-need basis, by suppliers such as funeral homes and funeral directors without requiring special handling equipment and heavy delivery trucks for transporting the vault to a location specified by the consumer. Disclosed subject matter provides such vaults having a design suitable for large scale, substantially automated manufacture in a relatively short manufacturing period, and with relatively low costs for manufacturing, transportation and storage. Disclosed subject matter provides an attractive, secure, and stable sealing urn vault that does not suffer from burial position stability problems, sealing problems, structural disintegration and weakening or breakage, and installation problems suffered with existing vaults.
Many cremation urn vaults are designed with a base adhered to sidewalls and a lid that closes from the top. Essentially, many cremation urn vaults are simply heavy boxes. These existing vaults are generally intended to seal and protect the urn contained therein from contaminants and the soil environment, but can fail for various reasons. Factors contributing to the failure of vaults of existing design include problems associated with the detrimental heavy weight of existing vaults, inferior construction materials, utilization of construction materials having improper material properties for the application and design dimensions, failure to incorporate adequate dimensional tolerances in the design considering the materials of construction, selection of material that are subject to failure or breaking down when permanently exposed to soil conditions, and problems caused by the difficulty of handling and burying heavy vaults formed of such materials.
The disclosed subject matter provides a polymeric urn vault of sound structural design and capable of being handled easily for burial. Disclosed subject matter provides a vault that is decorative and can serve as a display for an urn in a home setting (not buried). Disclosed subject matter provides a vault that seals tightly when underground, eliminating the threat of water, air, insects, and molds entering the urn having cremated remains contained therein. Disclosed subject matter provides a vault that in a buried position is capable of withstanding the weight of soil and heavy equipment atop the soil. Disclosed subject matter provides a vault that is sealed in a proven manner. In embodiments, a vault is sealed in the manner of an inverted empty glass, which is sealed when turned upside down in a sink full of water such that trapped air inside the glass presses against and prevents entry of the surrounding water.
Many vaults of existing design are very heavy and require either heavy machinery and/or extensive man-power for handling. This weight problem creates additional labor and increased costs. Concrete urn vaults, the most prominent on the market today, can weigh well over 100 lbs. and those skilled in the art recognize that these are extremely difficult to lower into burial spaces. Also, most concrete vaults are installed with an additional inner polymer liner to protect the urn because over time, water and moisture will weaken the integrity of the aggregate concrete, leading to cracks and eventual failure. Once failure occurs, the plastic liners collapse, leaving the cremation urn and its contents vulnerable to underground elements. For the size required, granite and marble urn vaults are usually cost prohibitive and their weight is similar, if not greater than concrete. Ceramic and glass are too fragile to entrust with protecting a family's “buried” urn. Wood is a bio-degradable substance that deteriorates quickly when buried, much like water-based, aggregate concrete. Also, if a family were to request a disinterment to remove a buried urn or add an additional urn, a concrete urn vaults would be extremely difficult to remove and if in fact the vault is still intact at the time of removal, the concrete lid would have to be broken in order to remove the urn. The concrete lid pieces falling into the vault could also damage the urn. Steel urn vaults do not seal, leaving the enclosed urn vulnerable to insects, molds and more, and even galvanized steel will succumb to rust in a moist environment. According to the disclosed subject matter is provided an extremely strong, durable, and easily handled urn vault capable of being reopened and resealed if requested, and which can be easily manufactured and quickly assembled with relative ease and reduced cost for handling and transport. In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided a sealable polymeric urn vault that is both functional and decorative. Embodiments provide a cremation urn vault that comprises four polymeric side walls which are bonded together to provide a completely sealed square or rectangular environment devoid of any penetration by water, moisture, air, mold, or insects. In embodiments, the urn vault includes a generally square piece of polymer serving as the base and a generally square polymeric top panel which will have the four adjacent side walls cemented to its edges with all four protruding downward. Each opposing side wall is bonded length-wise to each adjoining side, creating a seamless polymeric box that is open at the bottom and lowers onto the base. All polymeric pieces are bonded using a special solvent adhesive that molds adjoining pieces into a single entity by first softening the polymeric surfaces to be joined and subsequently fusing them together when the solvent dissipates. This leaves a strong, glue-free joint. This is referred to as “solvent welding” or “adhesive bonding”. Both terms will be used throughout this disclosure. Because the solvent adhesive used is formulated for adhering polymeric sheets together, the resulting pieces have the tensile strength of a single, solid sheet of polymer. In embodiments, attached to the base are guide rails which are bonded equidistant from the outside edge of all four sides of the vault. This “square railing system” serves as the resting guide for the seamless polymeric box which then lowers onto the base with the four side walls resting against the outside of the four rails. The fit is such that the top walls are held securely in place by the guide rails with no opportunity to slide or move in its position on the base. In embodiments, underneath the base are four square cubes that are set near each corner. The four cubes serve as pedestal feet which enable the device to be moved by being lifted from beneath the base. Also, the underneath space created by the pedestal feet may allow the use of straps or ropes if the urn vault is to be lowered into the ground, such as from any distance that makes it difficult to lower the vault by hand. In embodiments, the urn vault can be made of panels having different wall thickness such as, for example, greater wall thickness, as desired to provide support and extra protection from unusually heavy equipment or extremely harsh environments. According to embodiments, a polymeric urn vault can be altered to meet any urn size requirement. In embodiments, the urn size can be altered by increasing the height or length, or both, of the sidewalls, and the base unit dimensions can be adjusted accordingly. It will be understood that the scope of disclosed subject matter is not limited to the particular structures, dimensions or configurations set forth herein.
According to disclosed subject matter, a polymeric urn vault serves to protect the integrity of a cremation urn enclosed therein for a substantially longer period of time than concrete urn vaults when buried in soil. According to disclosed subject matter, a polymeric urn vault is impervious to the elements that target the two inherent weaknesses of concrete. Unlike concrete, disclosed subject matter comprises a vault formed of polymeric material that, in one aspect, may be selected for possessing the properties of being substantially unaffected by moisture; being resistant to degradation upon prolonged exposure to chemicals present in soil environments; substantially resistant to impact; and possess necessary structural strength. Vaults constructed of existing materials such as concrete, steel, marble, granite or bronze require extra labor and machinery to move them into place. Disclosed subject matter provides a polymeric urn vault that is very light weight and suitable for use as a decorative presentation device in the homes of families that delay urn burial. In a home, the vault can both separate and protect the cremation urn in a decorative environment until a time is selected for burial. The vault and urn can be moved to the burial location. Once the vault is lowered into the burial position with the urn inside, a solvent adhesive is administered along the outside of the vault base guide rails to permanently bond adjoining parts of the vault, and thus sealing the urn inside for all time. In an embodiment, at the time of interment the base and top can also be placed in position without the bonding compound, leaving the vault in a position to be opened at any point in the future should the family wish to do so. Even without the use of the sealing adhesive, the weight of the topsoil and grass may hold the top of the vault in place with the trapped air pressure sealing the urn inside, free of the threat of water, insects, mold, and the weight of heavy equipment.
Disclosed subject matter provides a sealing urn vault that protects the cremation urn in an isolated, underground environment created by trapped air pressure which prevents any water, moisture, or underground contaminants from entering the urn vault.
Disclosed subject matter provides a cremation urn vault that offers a sealed environment even if the urn vault is not permanently sealed by solvent adhesive. Once the top is placed onto the base and is held in place by the base guide rails, the trapped air pressure inside the vault provides a sealed environment in order to repel water, chemicals, and insects as when sealed permanently.
Disclosed subject matter provides a sealing cremation vault that when no solvent adhesive is required, the vault may be reopened simply by removing the fill dirt and lifting the vault top off of the base at any time in the future. This is required if a family requests a disinterment or if they wish to place a second urn inside the vault which can then be permanently sealed once the final urn is in place. No other existing cremation urn vault serves this purpose.
Presently, cremation ashes are placed into various types of cremation urns, including wood, bronze, marble, ceramic, and even plastic containers. A large percentage of these families are choosing to bury the cremation remains in cemeteries, private sites, and garden settings. If the cemetery or cremation garden requires an outer burial container for cremation ashes or if the consumer wants additional protection for the buried urn, the urn vault of the current disclosure serves that purpose. If an urn vault is not required, but the family requests the vault just to guarantee the integrity of the urn itself, this urn vault serves that purpose. If a grieving family wishes to take part in the burial ceremony to achieve closure, they may place this cremation urn vault into the designated grave space themselves. Subject matter of the disclosure serves that purpose as well, and this is an act not allowed by current urn vaults. Where families wish to delay the act of interring the cremation urn, disclosed subject matter serves the purpose of providing a protective and decorative display device for the urn both before and after the burial.
For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.